Tattoo leads to charges against gang member

MINNEAPOLIS - A tattoo found on the arm of a confirmed gang member foreshadowing the death of a Minneapolis Police officer has led to charges of making terroristic threats for the benefit of a gang.

Prosecutors say 20-year-old Antonio Jenkins, Jr. made a post on a social media website in late October showing a tattoo depicting a pig dressed as a Minneapolis Police officer, along with a person holding a gun in its mouth. The tattoo also included the name and badge number of aspecific officer who works a district where the Bloods street gang is active.

Authorities say Jenkins is a confirmed member of the Bloods.

In a caption below the picture of the tattoo, Jenkins wrote that it represented a police officer getting "his brains blew out." The captionagain mentioned the specific officer by name.

The officer was informed of the picture and posting and told his superiors he took it as a threat against his life and that it caused fear among the members of his family.

Jenkins was stopped by police In early November and officers observed the tattoo. In a statement to police the defendant admitted where and when he had gotten the tattoo and said that it stemmed from anger against the officer for an August 19, 2011 incident.

He reportedly admitted that the tattoo could lead to violence against the officer.

Investigators are alsoaware that in late September graffiti was found in an apartment frequented by the Bloods that threatened the same officer.

Prosecutors looked at the evidence and charged Jenkins with a felony count of terroristic threats for the benefit of a gang.